


Home is Wherever I'm With You

by audreyslove



Series: Lucky Charm [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-14 21:30:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16048946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyslove/pseuds/audreyslove
Summary: Lucky Charm verse - Roni wakes up in Hyperion Heights and realizes her soulmate came back to life at the same time she realizes her son is in terrible danger.





	1. Chapter 1

For as long as anyone has known her in this town, Roni has been single.

She came to Hyperion Heights about fifteen years ago, set on making a new life for herself after things in Vegas didn't quite work out the way she had hoped, to say the least. The man she had loved had died, the man she was sure she would spend the rest of her life with, and she couldn't stay there in the town where she watched him take his last breath. So she left.

She isn't really sure why she chose Seattle, not really, except it was the opposite of the Vegas strip she had worked. Dark, rainy, and cold. Everything was so  _real,_ gritty and dirty, not at all painted over with some faux sense of glamour. She craved all of that, especially after Cal had died. A friend of hers had a couch to crash on, so Roni moved there nearly spur-of-the-moment, exhausted and fed up with bright lights and plastic model monuments.

She came to Seattle full of pain, fiery ambition and a will to work, a desire to do something  _meaningful_ (for Cal, the man had always wanted that) and maybe one day, when she heals, to meet someone  _real,_ and  _passionate,_ and  _loving_.

She wanted to find a new start, do something useful, find a life with someone  _real_  that she could share.

Someone who wouldn't die.

But those dreams, just like all her others, weren't meant to be.

Other than the location, the weather, and the food, Roni's day-to-day life was very similar to her life in Vegas. She also found herself working behind a bar, the same as she had in Vegas. At least in Seattle, she was fully clothed, but she was pouring drinks nonetheless, catering to a different crowd, maybe, working for different types of bosses, but her ass go grabbed about the same amount, so it was not all that different in the end.

And despite the change in crowds, there sadly had not been any man to draw Roni's attention for more than a night or two. She hasn't found someone yet that she has any interest in more than satisfying a craving, a physical need.

What she  _did_ find in Seattle, however, was a strong community that she felt pulled to. She can't explain why she likes it here, in Hyperion Heights, but it somehow feels like home. Everyone, even strangers she meets for the first time, seem so familiar to her.

When the local bar she loved closed down, (the owner was arrested for having ties to a Czech mafia ring, of all random things), Roni had felt drawn to buy it. She's not sure why — she's never been much of an entrepreneur. But she likes mixing drinks, creating the perfect cocktail, the perfect potion to satisfy her customers. She likes being able to give them a dose of comfort, or happiness. And she thought she'd like it even more if she didn't have to deal with asshole managers and owners trying to take advantage of her.

So she had bought that blasted bar, the bank miraculously trusting her with a hefty loan, and ever since, she's poured her heart and soul into it, with little time to worry about finding love again.

It was just another dream she was set to abandon.

There's so much guilt, so much ridiculous fear that surrounds romantic love for Roni… that, well, she really put it out of her mind.

She's been a loner, and it's something she's well-known for.

Some of the kinder patrons tease her about settling down, asking if it's true that no man can handle her. She rolls her eyes, always, ignoring the stabbing of her heart that says  _yes_ and  _no man can actually live through loving me._  She overhears the cruder men theorize and joke that she must be a closeted dyke (as if Roni would let her preferences stop her from doing anything, she's offended at the implication, at one point resolved to find a woman to kiss and touch in public just to prove the point).

But for the most part, she doesn't mind the occasional jokes about her singlehood. Most don't mean to cause her any pain. She hasn't told anyone of her past dead lovers, so how could they know it is a sensitive subject?

Well, she has told Mac, now.

Fifteen years of silence, and now there is someone who knows her story and it just so happened he's the man who's been fucking her brains out three to four times a week (is it normal for men his age to be so insatiable? She hates that she doesn't have the experience to know).

She's shared more with Mac than she cares to dwell on, she's not sure how it all comes tumbling out, how she feels safe sharing things with him.

It's not just about the amazing sex that keeps her coming back.

Not with him.

With him it's the comfort, the feeling of belonging that has her hooked.

She's  _falling_ for him, as it's absolutely terrifying. She had long since stopped hoping for this. But when she feels her heart skipping a beat after he comes to walk her to her car at closing time "just because he worries", when she has to make excuses to drop by his house because she hasn't seen him in two days and she  _misses_ him, well, she panics.

Roni has asked him to keep the relationship a secret — or rather, the night they first slept together she told him in no uncertain terms that he absolutely would not be sharing a word with anyone about their little evening. She threatened him with everything she could muster. He had only chuckled and sworn to keep their secret, then somehow convinced her to stay for another round, and another, and an overnight nap, and a morning fuck, a breakfast homemade pancakes and crispy bacon.

And then, a few days later when he came back to her wanting  _more_ , and she relented, but she made it clear that he needed to keep their little  _arrangement_ a secret.

It's been months and it's clearly a  _relationship_  now, but she will be damned if she gives those idiots she serves something else to gossip about, and falling in love with the competition is surely a juicy rumor to spread.

So they keep things a secret, still, despite the fact they have feelings for one another, despite the fact she may in fact be in love with him.

He spends most nights with her, now. If she's working the bar to close, he waits for her. If she has the day off, or is working an early shift, Mac will sometimes beg off his shift, get one of his managers to cover, so he can spend some time with her. They both work hard, long hours, and when they started this up she imagined she'd see him once a week, if she was lucky. But they both are really quite desperate for one another's company, though, and it seems neither can resist rearranging schedules and lives in favor of this secret, not-so-meaningless relationship.

Sometimes he takes her out somewhere outside of their little neighborhood, in downtown Seattle, and then they hold hands, and sit in a restaurant and play the part of giddy tourists.

But most nights he's cooking her a quick late night meal, then cuddling up with her on the couch while they watch Netflix, and then seducing her into bed.

She's looking forward to doing just that, tonight. Watching an old episode of _Law and Order_  while he massages her feet (she really shouldn't have worn heeled boots for a 13 hour shift, but, well, they make her already amazing ass look great.

She's just about to lock up when Ivy slips in.

"Hello, Roni." She saunters in like she owns the damn place (and if things keep going this way, she just damn might, she and that god damned mother of hers).

"I hope you have come here to order something you can drink in two minutes," Roni rolls her eyes, walking back towards the bar. 'We're about to close, you know."

"I know," Ivy grins mischievously. "But I have something for you. And I'll buy you a drink. We're celebrating today."

"I don't think anything involving you at my bar at 1 AM is cause for celebration," Roni claps back. "Tell me why you're here."

"Don't feel like tending bar?" Ivy asks. "Never mind. I'll get it."

She grabs a bottle of scotch and two rocks glasses, and Roni allows herself to entertain the delicious thought of ramming her head through the glass bar.

She has done nothing wrong, really. Ivy's a bitch, but she's completely controlled by her mother. And Ivy's been… prickly, she supposes, but not down right mean.

Deep down inside, Roni has something in her gut, something telling her Ivy is awful. And she's learned to trust her instincts, mostly.

"Is this about the overdue mortgage, then?" Roni asks. "Because I have that money."

"It's not about that," Ivy smirks. "It's about something I just discovered. About your little friend, the bar owner down the street. Figured you might want to know the details."

Roni freezes for a moment before recovering and laughing. "I don't know even want to know what you're talking about," Roni mutters. "What friend?"

"The one you're fucking, Roni." Ivy challenges. "And I know that you've worked hard to keep that a secret. But I found out. And I can be convinced to keep it a secret too, if you want. Of course, we should talk first.

Roni groans. So this is blackmail, then. She takes a generous sip of the scotch, and contemplates just telling her to fuck off. McAlister doesn't mind them going public. Is it really so bad to be out in the open? The rumors and gossip would be worth it. She's not going to let Ivy win.

But she's got something in her backpocket, says she has information on him, and maybe Roni ought to listen.

"So, what's this all about? And why the sudden interest in my love life?"

Ivy chuckles at that. "Oh, who wouldn't be interested in your love life? It's a very interesting story, isn't it?"

Fuck, Roni hasn't eaten today, and apparently is suffering the effect of liquor on an empty stomach. The scotch is strong, warms her belly almost immediately, and now, as tries to make herself question Ivy, she's hit with a wave of vertigo. Ivy said something — something about her love life. She may know about Cal, maybe she knows about Matthew. Roni has to ignore the pounding in her head and ask why.

This is not how she normally responds to liquor, she realizes.

"Did you…" Shit, she's slurring something awful and everything goes sideways and blurry, and she struggles to keep her eyes open. "Did you put something in my drink?" she hears herself ask, good, she got the words out, thick and mumbled as they are.

"Mm, I did. You know, Lucy ran away today." Ivy smiles at her, and her face is barely recognizable, blurred and strange. "But I know where she went. She went to see her father. And she's going to bring him back to town. And when he returns, I need you to be awake."

"'M'awake," Regina mumbles, her tongue feeling far too thick and swollen to say much more, finally admitting defeat and closing her eyes tight.

"I've been wondering how exactly to wake you. See, your mind has to be in a certain state, it has to be somehow drawn to the past life. And I thought, how can I get you there? How? Everyone you love is gone. Your meager interactions with Tiana and Ella don't cut it. You need more. But then…" Ivy takes a sip of scotch, then leans back against the bar. "I noticed you sneaking out of your neighbor's house. I didn't recognize the man at first. Of course, I've never met him in person. But I know of him, we all do. And of course, I knew of your past with him. Your soulmate."

Her eyes are closed, but on those words, all she sees is bright, blinding light, and then flashes of moments she hasn't experienced, and yet….

She sees it in flashes, still not clear that it's her life she's seeing. A tormenting mother, a manipulative man teaching her ways to corrupt and ruin others, death, destruction, killing her own father, casting a curse, and then Henry, Henry, Henry, her son, creating a family with him and Snow White, her prince and her daughter, meeting Robin, loving him, everything that came between the, all the love, all the wanting, all the dreams, all the pain, watching him die, letting him go…

She doesn't understand anything.

Her vision is not blurred as she looks up at Ivy again, she has so many questions, she can't begin to know which one to start with.

"How did you bring him back?" Regina asks.

"Ah, Regina. Nice to see you back." Ivy smirks. "So, about that." Ivy puts on a fake little pout. She looks like a child, really, an elementary aged child about to pitch a fit because her mother won't buy her the dress she wants. "You see, Regina. I didn't bring him back. Someone else has been meddling in my curse. And I don't appreciate that one bit."

"And Henry," Regina gasps, "he's—"

"Lucy just went to see him. She thinks he's her father. She's right of course. But we're going to act like that little girl is crazy. You have experience with that, don't you? I heard you were quite convincing when it came to making Henry feel delusional."

"That's not true!" Regina gasps.

"Maybe not. I really don't care." Ivy says with a roll of her eyes. "But remember, true love's kiss can break any curse. But if Henry and Ella kiss…"

Regina swallows thickly, her eyes, practically bleed tears, flow freely, as she looks at Ivy in pain. What sort of monster — how can she —?

Past memories remind Regina that she was very much the monster Ivy was before, as that self-loathing part of her creeps up and reminds her this may all be karma.

"You'll make sure they don't break the curse too fast, right Regina?  Henry, Cinderella, and whoever brought that soulmate of yours back. Because I have an awful lot planned for my mother. And I need time."

Regina doesn't answer, she's too busy crying, reliving that moment when she saw her son in that agony, realizing his life would soon be over if she didn't act fast, and—

She's only jarred to the present when she hears the ringing doorbell, turning to find that Ivy has stepped out.

It's then that Regina realizes there's a few generous swallows of memory-inducing laced scotch in this rocks glass.

She can't suffer all this loneliness, all this pain, all this suffering by herself.

She  _can't._

And she needs to hold Robin, needs to find out his story, needs to hear how he survived (oh god, it's him, isn't it? It's not Robin Locksley, it's not her other half's soul mate, right? She knows it isn't — deep inside she knows, but god, what an awful thought). She needs to kiss and touch and reconnect with the man she loves and have him know who she is, and love her back.

He's waiting for her to close, she knows this. He'll be right there, casually strolling by as she locks up, waiting to walk her to her car.

But she needs him now, in the bar, not outside, waiting in the misty Seattle cold.

The thought crosses her mind that perhaps they cannot kiss, perhaps if they do, the curse will break. 

But she studied this curse well, and no, her true love won't break a curse she herself cast.

Henry and Ella can break the curse.  They are perhaps, the only ones who can.  

So she texts Robin. Texts, not calls, because she can't speak without sobbing

_Please come to the bar. I need to see you._

He doesn't answer her. When it's been a few minutes, and the text reads  _Read,_ she starts to panic, wondering if Ivy has got to him, worried that fate will once again take him away as it has seemingly every time they had one another.

But then she hears the knock on her door, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

She sees him every day, almost.

The sight of him shouldn't affect her the way it does.

But she only just realized who he is, who  _they_ are. She only just realized he's her soulmate, back from the dead. After years of mourning him, years of suffering guilt and nightmares, and loneliness. And he's back, an she doesn't know exactly how, but she loves him so much her heart might burst if she doesn't put her arms around him.

So she does, shamefully. She's happy and terrified, excited and devastated, hopeful and full of dread, sad and lustful, it's too many emotions all at once, and everything swirls inside her until the only thing she can do is cry.

So she does. She cries into his shoulder as he hugs her tighter.

Roni doesn't cry in front of others. Roni is strong, and undyingly independent. She's similar to Regina, in that.

Before she woke up, though, she was already letting herself open up to the person who was her soulmate.

She was already letting "Mac" in.

He's seen her shed a tear or two, but nothing like this.

"Shhh," Robin whispers, "It's okay, Roni, love, it's alright. I've got you. I'm here now."

But  _how?_

"I've missed you so much," she murmurs in a choked out breath.

He chuckles, though he doesn't appear to be laughing at her from the sound of it. Sounds more pleased than anything.

"Missed me? You saw me this morning, Roni. I almost made you late for work when I joined you in the shower. Do you remember that?" His beard tickles her cheek as he kisses her brow, then dips down to kiss her lips.

"Love, what happened?" He pulls back then, pulling her away so he can look her over, inspecting for something. "Did someone… were you hurt?"

Yes, she thinks, but not in the way he's worrying.

"I can answer everything in a moment," she finds the courage to say, and then rips herself from his arms. She feels the loss of his body immediately. They should be hugging more, touching more, she needs a full day in his arms at least to make up for this loss.

She needs him to wake up first.

"I know this is going to sound strange…" she says as she reaches the glass of scotch. "But I need you to trust me."

"I do," he says, and he can appreciate the solemness of the moment, she can tell.

"I need you to drink this." She hands him the drink. "I'll tell you everything, I will Robin. I just need you to drink this."

"Robin?" he asks, and then his brow furrow playfully. "Are you…. Seeing someone else? Did you just slip your secret other lover's name?"

He's kidding, and she knows it. He does too. She's at this bar nearly every blasted moment of her life, and with him every other moment (soulmates, soulmates that found one another again, cursed lives and soul obliteration apparently doing little to separate them).

"I just…" She can't call him by any other name, refuses to. "Do you know how much I care for you?"

He smirks, and grabs the glass out of her hand and takes a sip, and her heart feels like it's about to stop as he drains the whole glass.

"I know. And if this is about that, then…. I feel the same. You know that, don't you? I've been trying to give you time, but I…"

It hits him then, the memory potion, has him staggering towards a barstool.

And for a second he looks shocked and betrayed.

"Wasshappening?" he slurs, looking at her. "Diddyou drugg me?"

"It's not a drug, Robin," she says softly, pulling up a seat next to him. "I would have told you, if I could have before, but you'd never have believed me. It's a memory potion. Ivy gave it to me. There was just enough left in the glass, I hope, for you."

She watches him, as his face screws in pain, in confusion mutter "Whoz Robin?" before he shuts his eyes tight, and gasps.

When his hand flies to his chest, Regina feels a surge of hope.

Maybe this is working. Maybe he is remembering.

It takes only a few painful seconds, but it feels like hours.

And then he's grasping for her, hugging her tight.

"Regina," he gasps, "God, Regina, I've missed you."

She has so many questions to ask, so much to tell him, but he needs a moment, and so does she.

So she lets him hug her, and hold her, lets him whisper into her ear how he's loved her for so long, since that year in the Enchanted Forest so long ago. She admits the same, tells him she loved him then, and loves him still now. She never really stopped.

"How?" she asks, her body shaking, almost afraid to ask. "How are you here?"

"I don't know," he answers, in half a laugh, half a sob. "The last I remember is looking at you, right before I—"

He shakes his head, as if he doesn't even want to mention his last moment. It's too painful.

"I love your hair." he says instead, swiping his fingers through the curly, unruly locks.

Regina laughs. "You always loved it this way," she admits, thinking of nights in Camelot when her hair would frizz in the humidity, and as much as she hated it, he absolutely adored it, and made his feelings well known in words and action.

"What of our sons and my daughter?" Robin asks tentatively. "How much time has passed, what has happened?"

Her heart sinks into her stomach. "I… I'm hazy on the details. I only just woke up myself. But Roland, last I saw, he was with…." God how does she explain that he is with the split version of herself and some odd Genie-created version of himself? Maybe that's a tale for later. "He went with your men. They didn't want to stay in Storybrooke. He was, last I saw, safe in the Enchanted Forest."

"They should have stayed with you. I trusted him with you. He loved you. He wouldn't have been able to ask for a better mother." He whispers it softly, more lovingly than regretfully. He' snot angry that she gave him up, he's assuring her. She always knew he'd want that, deep down inside, but hearing him say it is overwhelming.

"In my cursed memory, your daughter went backpacking through Europe," she says softly. "I don't know where she really is."

"It's been years," Robin seems shocked at that, and Regina winces. It can't be easy, finding out you lost so many years of your child's life. He strokes her cheek, then leans in to kiss her. "Love, I don't know what happened, or how we found one another, but it's been years, and if you've moved on—"

"Never," she says firmly. "I never moved on, Robin. I loved you, and only you. All this time. I can't explain it, I'm not saying I've never taken another lover, but I've never even  _loved_ another. And I only love you now.  I only want you."

He smiles back gratefully, murmuring "Thank god" before drawing her into another kiss.  And then his face screws up in concern.  " I have no reason to be happy you spend years without a new romance.  I'm sure that must have been hard, for so long.  I only meant that I was very excited that you are currently single, and hopefully available to date."

Regina hasn't quite stopped crying, but now she laughs through her tears, shaking her head.  "I'm fairly certain I'm not single.  I've been pretty in love with the bar owner down the street."

Robin grins and dips down for another kiss.  She's not sure he means it to be more than a peck, but it's the first time she's kissing Robin  _knowing_ that it's really him, so she deepens it, savors it, enjoys the way his lips and tongue feel against hers as she clings to him tightly.  

When they part, theey are both a bit breathless.  

"I was in love with you too, you know.  My cursed identity was quite fond of your cursed identity."

She's unable to resist a smile, dropping her voice a bit and saying, "I know.  You weren't exactly subtle about your feelings."

Robin laughs, and reaches for her hand, just to hold it.  She wants a day to just flirt and kiss and touch, to cry, and share every last moment of her life without him, to thank god for him.

But Henry is coming to town, and Henry is in trouble.  She has to put all those feelings aside, for now.  

It's not the first time she's had to do that and this certainly won't be the last.  

It's not Robin's first time, either, however, and she's never been more grateful for him than when he snaps out of the moment with her, that smug confident smirk spreading across his face as he asks, "Now, tell me about this curse, and tell me how we can get our family back."

She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

They spend all night catching up, trading cursed and real memories, piecing together the past, and working on a strategy for the future.

The sun is shining when they finally succumb to sleep, hours of talking and kissing and reconnecting with one another taking its toll.

As she sleeps in her soulmate's arms - the man she was fated to be destined for so long ago, who cannot be separated from her even in death, even in a soul-obliterating event, she truly allows her to believe that they will win this.

Somehow, Robin has been brought back from the dead, and Regina isn't about to let that miracle be wasted on the curse of a petulant child.

They will break the curse and reunite their family. This time it will work out. This time, they will find their true happy ending. Together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Posted for #InspiredByOQ week based on amazing manips of Roni/Robin by FlaviaOttaviane :)

Based on these beautiful manips by [@flaviaottaviane](http://www.twitter.com/flaviaottaviane)

 

 

After the curse is broken, there’s a whirlwind of emotion.  She has gotten him back, he’s gotten a second chance at _life,_ and it’s euphoric, in some ways.  Has her wanting to celebrate every last minute of this new miracle.

But their family is fractured and missing, and that constant dread hangs over their head.

Henry is here, but he doesn’t remember Regina.  He calls her Roni and pines for a true family. It hurts her to see him so lonely, and every time she finds him being pulled towards his wife, it hurts even more to have to plant seeds of doubt and rip them apart.

She loves Ella.  It wasn’t easy to see her son fall so deeply in love, because Regina knows how easily love can hurt people.  She was guarded and protective of her son, and horribly distrustful of Ella at first. But the girl worked her way into Regina's heart, and now she can’t picture her son with anyone else.

And she has to keep them apart, and it kills her to watch her family not be happy and whole.

If the pain of seeing Henry without his family is a dull ache, the pain of seeing Lucy is a sharp, acute throb.  Lucy knows the truth just like Henry once did, but Regina can’t help her, can’t tell her the truth. She has to act like she’s playfully engaging in the secret, like she believes-but-doesn’t-really-believe.  Lucy is frustrated. Regina is heartbroken.

For Robin, though, it may be even worse.  He has no idea if Roland is alive or dead, and though Regina assures him that the other version of himself is taking care of him with some other version of Regina… well, that just doesn’t sound very comforting or real, does it?  It sounds a bit frightening. He hasn’t seen them the way Regina has. She can’t accurately describe these two characters to inspire much confidence.

So there’s a lot of pain and worry in their life right now but also a lot of joy, love and yes, lust.  

You can’t just feel grief and worry at all hours of the day.  It’s too exhausting.

And she has missed him so horribly it hurts, yet it feels wrong to celebrate the fact she has him back.

So she finds herself fighting the enjoyment of having him here, caving when they are too exhausted to fight their feelings anymore.  And they are exhausted _a lot._

Sex becomes a carnal need to touch and feel connected, and a way to soothe and be soothed.

And god, does it feel good to just _feel good_ for a few moments.

She’s ashamed in ways, when she thinks back on this moment, but the first time she’s with him — knowing it’s _him,_ being _awake—_ is hours after they take that memory potion.  They were supposed to be going to her house just to _talk,_ to _brainstorm;_ fuck, her _son_ is in danger.

But all that pent up emotion had built until she had felt she was boiling and bubbling over, and she couldn’t help herself, the moment he shut her front door behind him, she had been on him.

She had pinned him against that door, pressed a frantic, bruising kiss to his lips as she leaned against him.

She had felt his surprise, the way he gasped for just a moment in the kiss before reciprocating.

He broke the kiss to dot kisses along her hairline.

“I know we were just together this morning,” he whispered, his voice all raspy and dripping with sex.  “But I miss you, I have missed you, _Regina._ ”

She had known what he meant, she has fucked him every single way when he was MacAllister, but she hasn’t been with _Robin_ for decades.

“Miss you too.  Need you,” she had murmured, and then she had been gripping at his shirt, pulling it off in an almost feral action.  She had leaned back in to kiss him, but he shook his head, stripped her of her coat and top.

“Has it really been so long?” he had asked, looking at her body, and god, yes it had been so, so long without him. “You look exactly the same from the last time I saw you.”

The last time she had with Robin was a quick romp in the underworld, and she prefers not to think of it.  They had been stressed and worried about so much, her mind wasn’t fully on _him_ when they were together, just a quick fuck in the woods to destress, just to feel something.

She prefers to think of Camelot when she thinks of them together.  Of decadent bedroom chambers, silk sheets and velvet drapes, being taken against ornately carved headboards and dreams of better days to come.

It had almost ruined the moment, thinking of that last time, but before she could dwell he had kissed her again, cupped her breasts, thumbed over her nipples the way he knew she damn well _loves,_ and splattered compliments between every meeting of the lips.

His hands had eventually found her ass, cupping lightly before giving them a squeeze.

“I love you,” she moaned, not in a particularly sentimental way, but because she could say it now, freely and as often as she wants.  She realized she no longer had to worry about all the things Roni thought about love and romance. That stubborn refusal to admit she’s in love is gone now.  And the years before Roni, when she hated herself for the love she still felt for Robin, because he was dead and it wasn’t healthy, because normal people can recover from lost love and _move on_ in an appropriate amount of time.

But her heart was right to hold on to him, perhaps it knew best that they would meet again. He’s not dead, she can love him as freely and as openly as she wants, and it’s wonderful, releasing all her guilt and self loathing over how she handled the entire ordeal.

“I love you too,” he had murmured back, before picking her up and carrying her to the bed.

She took off her own boots and socks the second he plopped her on the bed. He then stripped her of her bra, fingers deftly unclasping in a way Robin never had before, but had been ingrained in Mac’s DNA.

She’s dreamt about moments like this so many times when she was Regina, and it hardly feels real, even knowing she’s been having this regularly with Robin for months now, it somehow seems like a very intimate series of dreams, old memories mixing with the new.

So she had this desire to examine him, rediscover every part of Robin she thought she lost forever.  She traced the scar on his arm first, the same comforting bumps smoothing against her fingertips.

She had smoothed her hands up and down his chest next, down to his belly button and back.  God, she remembers thinking he was in such incredible shape, the exact body she remembered down to every dip and dimple, every defined muscle.

She had remembered it all so well.  It’s like he never left her.

He had let her take this tender moment, had hovered over her and waited, sensing her need to do this little evaluation.  When she looked up at him she saw this gentle, concerned expression on his face.

“Is everything alright, love?”

God, how she loves his voice.

“You’re real,” she had breathed. “And alive.”

And he had nodded, promised her he was in fact real, and very alive, he would prove that to her over and over, for the rest of their lives, which would be a very, very long time.  

She had never felt more vulnerable than in the moment she asked for him to make love to her.  And that’s exactly the words she used, “make love”. She made her request softly, like a prayer, and what started as this carnal need became a slow, intimate affair.

He had done the things _Robin_ knew _Regina_ liked that night — and Mac and Roni, well, they were a bit different.  Roni liked her hair pulled, she liked to be smacked around a bit, was more reminiscent of Regina’s tastes when she was the Evil Queen.

Regina likes it a bit softer.  And she likes a _lot_ of kissing.  An embarrassing amount, so she’d fight herself on it at first, fight the urge to keep drawing him into kiss after kiss, it seemed desperate, almost, far too telling about how much he meant to her.  But she was weak for him and he has always been good at reading her desires, and in short time he had gotten the message, drawing her into a heady makeout session so she wouldn’t need to be the one to initiate, planting kisses on random spots on her body at the sweetest of moments.

He had obviously remembered this little detail, covering her in soft pecks and gentle presses of his lips. It must have been obvious how much she wanted him, because he hadn’t even asked before undoing her jeans and pulling them and her underwear down until she was bare for him, then kissed his way up to her breasts, kissing one while nimble fingers plucked on the other.  

He and Regina had found a rhythm in this that Mac and Roni hadn’t, despite the fact that frankly, she’s fairly certain their cursed personas had more sex than she and Robin ever got to.  

But the sex was more intimate, she supposes.  They knew one another better, trusted a little more.  

So what he did with his tongue and his fingers had made her writhe and pant in a way she had not in decades.

“Fuck,” he had murmured into her skin, his breath teasing wet flesh, causing goosebumps to flare around the edges of nearly too-sensitive breasts.  “Can't believe I get to touch you again.”

He has a lifetime of Mac’s memories in his head separating the two of them, and she had a lifetime of being Roni, but she also has over a decade of just _missing_ him, so the joy she felt in that moment, the gratefulness, was absolutely indescribable.

She could have thought to explain it, but then his tongue traced a line down between her breasts, working his way to her belly button, and it’s exactly what he used to do before he—

Her brain had short circuited with pleasure and anticipation, she remembers her hands found his head, fingers combing through his hair as he made his way between her legs.

“Like you used to,” she had breathed, grabbing at his right hand. Robin had remembered, oh how he remembered.

Two fingers at first, the perfect angle, the perfect speed.  Mac had been good at this, but Roni thought she liked this deep frantic pace when it’s actually a slightly slower, specific angle that _really_ gets her going.  

Robin gave her exactly what she wanted that night, what she had tried to replicate herself for… years.  He didn’t use his mouth until she reached that first peak, it seems he preferred to watch her as he worked her up.  Everytime her eyes were open enough to focus she saw his eyes on hers, god he had looked so hungry for her it was almost too much.  

She knows she lost control of her mouth, said things that Roni would say, dirty, delicious words that spewed from her mouth as he fucked her just right.  She can’t remember exactly, but she can remember his little grunts, his murmured moans about how _good_ she looks like this, the promises he made to never stop, not until she had enough.  Things kept building and building, she felt herself climbing higher than ever, head head in the clouds, soaring, but not close to coming down yet.  She remembers holding her breath as she toppled over the edge, free falling into bliss, orgasm hitting her so hard she couldn’t focus on anything but the pulsing pleasure that zinged through every nerve.  When she settled enough to remember to breathe, she had been gasping, laughing and panting.

He paused long enough to kiss her, and then had murmured something about going down on her, and she had only nodded once before he shimmied down her body again, her entire body still quaking in aftershocks.

She had been too sensitive for ages after coming so hard, so he had to avoid her clit, fucking her with his tongue and kissing her thighs and belly until she had settled.

He had brought her to another orgasm with only his tongue, he hadn’t ever done that, Robin.  He always used fingers too. But Mac... well, Mac did this regularly and it seemed Robin wanted to do the same.

When she came apart again, his tongue sliding against her clit as he sucked at her, she had honestly never felt more at peace.

She had been hit with this punch of affection and love she didn’t know what to do with, pulled him towards her, back up next to her, so she could take the lead for a bit.

He had still been catching his breath, so she took the lead that time, straddling his body to be on top of him, kissing his lips, cheeks, jaw, neck, shoulders, sliding a tongue devilishly along his nipples he way he liked before exploration games the rest of his check and torso with her mouth.

It had been a sweet build up for him, but he reminded her he was already _throbbing_ for release, that he loved her but needed her badly, could she please..?

She sat up, legs straddling his hips as she rocked into his cock, her wet sex sliding up and down in a way that was almost too good, her clit catching and rubbing against it in just the right way.  

She just teased too terribly long before she took him in her hands and thrust him inside her.

“My god,” she muttered, just at the _feel_ of him, knowing it’s him, her soulmate.

“I know darling, I know,” he had rasped, gripping her hips and breathing heavily.  “Take what you need, my love, please. I’ll try to last for you — mm! Missed you so much.”

She couldn’t help but cup his cheek, making the entire thing so tender and… soft instead of passionate and sexy.  But he’s back, really back, and he’s with her, where he’s supposed to be, everything feels right at this moment. There’s so much pain right now but in that moment she had truly believed everything would work out, and they would prevail.

It was slow and tender at first, as worked up as he had been, she was in control, looking down on him.  He was biting his lip, and later, his tongue, hard, clearly trying to last, even with the slow pace.

“So beautiful,” he moaned, and there was more, so much more said, spoken and unspoken between them, as she enjoyed him, slowly at first, then unable to resist a quickened pace as the emotions overwhelmed her and she became desperate to come with him, to bring him pleasure, feel and see him, the way he trembles and shudders as his release hits.

She had taken him at the pace _he_ loves, rocking her hips in a way to draw every ounce of pleasure she could, because she had taken so much, the desire to give and give had been overwhelming.

When they came together, her first, unable to resist the tempting pleasure drawing her back into the undertow, him while she was caught in the wake, it had been almost too much to process.

They had collapsed on each other that night not much later, as she smiled in this giddy way, pleasure soaked and sex drunk, her hand combing through her hair as his combed through hers.

For that night it was like they didn’t have a care in the world.

But the days that followed were more fret filled, hectic, anxious.  Henry had showed up two days later, and everything became so hard on her poor dark heart.  It would be harder without Robin, of course. She’s not sure she would have made it this far alone.

Tonight they are strategizing.  She found a way to replicate the memory potion Ivy had given her — Robin had managed to pilfer the the bit of magic Ivy had been hoarding, and a few ingredients.  

Not enough for everyone, but enough for one, maybe two people.

And they’ve been talking in circles on whether to use it on Henry, or Ella, or Alice, or—

Should they really use it on any one, at all? Isn’t it too dangerous?

He’s ordered chinese food but put it on proper plates the way she Regina likes, and matched it with a decent glass of wine.  The food had been a comfort. The conversation had been… tense.

“I think, ideally we want someone who can best help us break the curse without hurting anyone,” Robin says.  Regina winces — she _knows_ that, but she doesn’t want to believe it.  Because that person isn’t her son. Henry can’t help as well as others.

She just wants to hug her son.

“But if we don’t wake Henry, he may break the curse and get himself killed,” Regina points out, clinging to a non selfish reason to use it on him.

“Regina, you know how I feel about Henry.” He looks a bit defensive and then shakes his head. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to your son, I love him too, you know.”

“I know,” Regina sighs.  “Trust me, I know I fucked everything up, I know it’s hard not having Roland here.  And I _will_ get you back to him.” She grasps at his hand.  “I swear I know it seems like Henry is the only thing that matters to me, but—“

“I don’t think that at all, love,” he assures, his hand cupping her cheek, thumb stroking the apple of it tenderly.  “And if Roland were here I know you’d be trying to split the potion between the two of them. I’d want you to do that too, but… ultimately I want us to have a plan to fix this when Henry wakes.” She frowns, confused at first as to why he wouldn’t want Henry _involved_ in the planning process _._ He’s capable, he’s not a 13 year old who needs to be shielded from the truth, does he not remember that years have passed?

He continues, though, after pressing a kiss to her brow.  “I can’t imagine waking up, getting all those memories back, and being told I can’t touch and kiss and love my wife, that I can’t hold my child, that I have to pretend to not know them the way I do.  It’ll be hard on Henry. If we wake him, we need a plan. I don’t want him to be hurt.”

He can almost stop her heart with his words and his caring, the way he treats Henry as his own, the concern he has for him and his family.  Even though Robin hasn’t seen her boy since he was a teenager, and has never met Ella or Lucy, he’s fully embraced them as his family. He loves them all, and that is apparent in every interaction “Mac” has with Henry (they keep their cursed personas, it’s just easier for their town).

She hates herself for doubting his motives for even a moment.

“You’re right,” Regina sighs.  “I’m just so scared that he will end up kissing Ella and then dying when we aren’t there to stop it.”

“Well they are nowhere near on kissing terms yet.  But I think we should tell Lucy,” Robin sighs. “She’s already made me as Robin Hood.  She already believes. She can help. It’s a lot on a child, but she thinks no one believes her and that’s almost harder.  This way we can tell her _why_ we have to keep her dad and mom separate, and she will work with us instead of against us.”

She absolutely doesn’t want Lucy involved in this, but he _is_ right, she’s involving herself.  She’s just intentionally on the wrong side, trying to cause her own father’s death without meaning to.

“Okay, let's do it,” Regina signs, leaning against him, dreading the conversation to come, but knowing it’s the right choice to make.

“We still need to figure out who to give the potion to.  Someone with magic, or at least a knowledge of magic. I know you say Alice is powerful but volatile.  She seems partially awake as it is… Who can help her? Someone who will be on our side. I’d suggest Rumple, but we know he’s most likely awake, don’t we?”

“He’s awake, he always is,” Regina groans.  “There’s another person with magic. Zelena.” She doesn’t dare look up at him yet, cringing at the thought.  “I’m sorry. She’s um, in San Francisco right now. I haven’t brought her up, but… she does have magic. She would be on our side.”

She gathers courage to meet his eyes then. He looks tense and concerned but not exactly angry, like she had feared.

“Do you miss your sister?” he asks softly.

She bites her lip.  “It’s complicated. We weren’t terribly close over the years.  There was a lot… a lot between us. I don’t think I ever fully forgave her, and I don’t think she ever fully grew up.  But she understands me. And her daughter — your daughter — god, I love her so.”

“Zelena destroyed Hades to save you,” he says shortly, as if he’s reminding himself of a good quality of hers.  

“Yes,” Regina admits.  “And she’s… she’s not as awful as you remember.  Not anymore. But Alice is still a better choice to wake up. Though, she’s just… there are issues there, as we talked about. I don’t know how to direct all her talent, we aren’t close enough and she’s obviously suffered a trauma.  If we wake her father there’s a curse that will separate him. I just don’t know what to do. In any case I’m sorry I brought Zelena up, forget it.”

“It’s okay,” Robin soothes.  “I know… she’s your family, and we will get her back.  It’s… I know for you it happened decades ago, but…”

“I get it,” Regina assures, raising a hand in defense, “trust me I do.”

“Thank you,” he sighs, leaning back on the sofa.  

“Wish Hook knows magic,” Regina sighs.  “He is a possibility. Wake him, but not his daughter. Maybe he’d have an idea on how to get Gold to help.  Or….”

She’s so tired.  Nothing seems to feel right.  It’s so late, and she’s so tired and hyper focused on their conversation she nearly misses the ringing of her phone.

At four AM, who would call?

She checked her screen, and her eyes widen at the face of Robin’s daughter on her lock screen, all shining bright eyes, the name “Margot” underneath it.

“Your daughter,” she whispers, putting the call on speaker, a finger to his lips so he knows not to speak.  He only nods.

“Aunt Roni?” Margot asks, sounding a bit sad and scared.  “Are you… are you there?”

“I’m here, darling.  But it’s four AM here.”

“Oh god!  I’m so sorry, I did the timezone math all wrong!” she gasps.  “I just...”

The sobs aren’t meant to be audible, Regina knows that, she knows her niece, knows what her stifled cries sound like.  

“Oh honey,” Regina whispers, “what happened?”

“I miss home,” she cries.  “Please Aunt Roni, I know I left you without any notice but I’m lonely, and I wanted to do this on my own but I can’t.”

“You don’t even have to ask, baby,  You’re always welcome at home,” Regina assures.  “You can stay with me. I’ll make up your bed, and you can help me out at the bar until you get squared away.  Did something happen?”

“Yes… no… I don’t know,” she sobs.  “I… I’m flying home now. I’m calling you from the airport.  I’m sorry, I just… I get in around five your time, I know you’re working, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Sweetheart, I’ll be there waiting for you at the airport,” she assures.  “It’s okay. Let’s talk about it more when you get back, okay?”

“I’m still mad at mom,” she admits.  Regina bites her lip and looks at Robin who is... concerned to say the least.  He probably thinks Zelena did something awful.

“Darling, it’s okay, we will talk about that more. She loves you.  She just worries.”

“Please don’t tell her I’m coming home?” Margot asks, “At least until I get back and settled?  Aunt Roni I know it’s a lot to ask but—“

“It’s not.  I can keep a secret,” Regina assures.  She thinks of secrets kept and broken, how it got them in this wonderful, beautiful mess, and could almost laugh if she weren’t so close to tears.  “I don’t want this call to cost you too much money. Why don’t you get yourself a bit to eat and drink, and then get on that plane. I’ll be here if you need me, okay?”

When she hangs up, she feels a bit better.

Because she has a plan.

“Her,” she says with a smile.  “We will wake her.”

“My daughter?” He is puzzled, but smiling, of course, an opportunity to meet his daughter will only make him happy.

“Your daughter and Alice are in love. The potion can be split between the two of them.  And Margot—“ it’s easier to call her that then her true name, for now at least— “Margot and Alice are an unstoppable force when together. Alice is incredibly gifted and powerful, Margot is brave and logical, she balances her perfectly.  We can do this with their help.”

She yawns, hours of putting off sleep seem to crash down on her at once.  It’s settled, they have a plan, now it just needs to be executed.

“Alright,” Robin says with a smile.  “We will wake her.” He urges her to lie on his lap, and the idea is so pleasing to her she scurries into position, letting him stroke her hair as she rests.  

“I’m scared,” Regina admits softly.  “And nervous for you to meet her.”

“I am as well,” he chuckles, pressing a kiss into her hair. “But also excited.”

There’s a few more minutes of silence as his fingers tease through her hair, nothing else but the gentle soothing touch of him.

Her eyelids are so heavy with sleep, they feel glassy and fuzzy, and her words slur every so slightly when she asks him, “Shall we go to bed?” She hears the exhaustion in her voice, her head feels funny and dizzy.  She’s not sure she has the energy to get up, frankly.

“Why don’t you have a little kip?  I'm not so tired yet,” he whispers, pressing a kiss into her hair once more, sprawling out on the couch as she settles into him.

“You sure?” she asks, “I know this is a lot, you should rest…”

“You’ve had a hard day, a hard set of days,” he murmurs.  “And there’s so much to come. Just sleep. Things are going to get better in the morning.”

She wakes in bed, lying next to her soulmate (it’s still not a dream, thank god, she’s had so many early morning moments of panic, she doesn’t think she will ever sleep apart from him from now on, just in case).  

She snuggles into him, and he sighs, wrapping his arms around her and urging her to settle into sleep again.

“Rest up, love,” he whispers.  “We have a busy day ahead of us.”

She lets sleep overtake her again, in his arms, in his bed.  

For the first time in a long time, she feels safe and optimistic.  

They will get their family back.


End file.
